Polio virus has become uncontrollable in Pakistan as cases are being reported frequently, a child from the Chagai area of Balochistan was crippled as a result of the disease.
According to the report, after a 5-year-old girl tested positive for the virus, the number of cases reported across the country so far this year has reached 43.
An official from the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Control at the National Institutes of Health said that the 43rd case of wild poliovirus type (1) has been confirmed.
He said that this is the first case of polio reported from the Chagai district of Balochistan and it is the 43rd case in Pakistan this year.
He further informed that so far 22 cases have been reported from Balochistan, 12 from Sindh, 7 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.
It is worth noting that a campaign is currently underway in the country from October 28 to November 3, with the aim of immunizing more than 4.5 crore children under the age of 5 against polio.
The official said that it is important for parents to open their doors for polio vaccinations during this nationwide polio vaccination campaign and ensure that all children are immunized against the devastating effects of polio. Two drops of vaccine should be administered.
It should be noted that on October 29, another case of polio was reported in the country, after which the total number of children affected by this disease reached 42 this year.
An official of the Regional Reference Laboratory confirmed that wild poliovirus type 1 has been reported in the Nowshera district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
He said that a 29-month-old girl resident of UC Gandhiri has been affected by a contagious disease like polio, this is the first reported case of polio from Nowshera.
On October 29, the policemen assigned to protect the polio team were attacked in Orakzai district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as a result of which 2 officials were killed while 3 terrorists were killed in retaliatory firing.
Meanwhile, in the limits of Kohat police Station Mills area, motorcycle-borne armed men opened fire on the police guarding the polio team, but the police personnel foiled the attack with a quick response.
On the other hand, the polio campaign in 6 districts was postponed yesterday due to security concerns.
Officials had said that the polio campaign has been postponed in Kurram, South Waziristan, Upper, Lower Waziristan, Bannu, and North Waziristan districts, adding that the campaign would resume after security clearance.
